deal.
The characters of the first part. The closest I can say about them is:
Contradiction.
I mean simply, they claim nobility, but they are the opposite.
They claim kindness, but they are the opposite.
And whoever was evil, it was merely a facade.
They were mad... mad with power.
Despite the first part being released and read ten years ago, we are sure that this character was never mentioned in any of the four subsequent parts.
Why?
Why was a character more than a thousand years old never mentioned?
A character whose power I cannot determine because we don't have an energy crystal yet, but why do I feel that he is strong?
Our eyes, full of questions, met regarding Izkron. Luca was murmuring under his breath, his mind working at a furious pace to connect the threads.
"Elar civilization... Biological modification... A thousand years..."
Lewis was the first to regain his composure and said with a strange calm and seriousness:
"Let's get to the important part now. The biological modification of Elar's 'Soul Engineering'... This is not enhancement, this is the stripping of will. You were turning living beings into energy conduits, into living batteries."
"They were, not you were. I wasn't around then, so I was reading about them to pass the time... It's fascinating to observe the failures and insane experiments of others."
Izkron's tone was sarcastic, yet calm, as if their failure was nothing but amusement for him.
"You were reading about them?"
Luca muttered. "If you are not one of them, then who exactly are you?"
Izkron looked at Luca, the brass gears around his clock face slowly flashing, giving the impression that he was weighing the question with extreme care. His stillness defied all expectations.
"Who am I?" Izkron repeated the question in a quiet, muffled tone, like an echo in an empty chamber.
"Humans have an obsession with definition and boundaries.
Am I a machine? Am I a living being?
Am I a transient shadow of that forgotten civilization?
It doesn't matter. What matters is that I collect knowledge, and I am particularly interested in 'things that should not be.' I am a witness to failure. And a witness to power."
"Another philosophical answer to avoid the question..."
Lewis sighed, looking at that clock and the metallic gears. "Let's skip the philosophical questions; you're a clock, and we're humans, a simple answer anyway. You said you haven't met any living being for nearly a thousand years."
Izkron, the Clock-Face, continued with his frightening composure, ignoring Lewis's sarcastic comment.
"It's not that I haven't met anyone; it's that everyone I meet dies two seconds after seeing me... But you two haven't died, and that is strange and good at the same time."
Luca leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowing in focus, and said:
"Two seconds? Is it a defense mechanism? What kills them?"
Lewis was calm as he looked at the Clock-Man, then said in a tone devoid of sarcasm:
"It's a curse, isn't it?"
Luca turned to Lewis in surprise. A curse! Impossible! What kind of curse could kill a person two seconds just from looking at him?
I shifted my eyes, looking at Izkron and Lewis, and felt the air become chillingly cold.
Izkron, the Clock-Face, stared at Lewis with absolute serenity, as if they were in a staring contest. The brass gears around his ivory face seemed to stop for a moment, in a stillness heavier than noise.
"...."
"...."
"....."
After a silence that seemed to stretch for eons, his deep, muffled voice returned, devoid of any emotional inflection, yet carrying the weight of thousands of years.
"A curse... A simple, comfortable word. Humans love simple words that explain things in a comfortable way. But congratulations, you hit the nail on the head, child."
The silence that followed Izkron's admission of a curse was heavier than the whole cave's stillness. Luca, despite his astonishment at the revelation, maintained his newly acquired composure.
Lewis looked at the surprised Luca, then slowly returned his gaze to Izkron, the Clock-Face, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible.
"So it was a curse! I suppose the person who cursed you is either insanely powerful or someone powerful who holds a major grudge against you... My condolences on having such a fearsome enemy."
Lewis's shift to his calm, non-sarcastic demeanor, and his direct acknowledgment of the curse, created a new shock in the atmosphere. The Clock-Face being, Izkron, was not used to this kind of reaction.
Izkron looked at Lewis, the brass gears around his face faintly glowing, as if trying to comprehend the human expression of condolence.
"Condolences?... Unnecessary sentiment, child. But I truly wonder how you knew."
"I didn't know; it was just a hunch... Also, from the moment I first saw you until now, you haven't emitted any killing intent or thirst for blood.
If you wished to kill us, I would have felt it, but instead, you seemed more surprised, repeatedly saying that you were astonished by our continued consciousness.
This means the matter is beyond your control, so we are left with two reasons:
One: Some malfunction in your energy, which I ruled out because you were reacting to my manufactured sarcasm, which I used to gauge whether you were out of control or not.
Two: Which made me exclude the first one, because no one out of control can do that, so we are left with the other matter."
Lewis leaned slightly on the table, looking at Izkron. His gaze was calm, as if he had finished his deduction.
"That you are afflicted by a curse... But there is one point I wish to confirm.
You said everyone you met died upon seeing you, but you also said you haven't met anyone.
When Luca asked if you were called the Storm King, you denied it but at the same time didn't know that people were calling you that, so this means you are imprisoned here, and this is confirmed.
So my question is: Did you imprison yourself here, or did someone imprison you?"
Luca sighed calmly and smiled sarcastically.
Lewis always loved to play theatrical games to get to know his opponent well.
He knew from the moment Lewis used his loud and tense tone that he had already begun analyzing the target.
A person like Lewis... Lewis could easily create, dismantle, and study the opponent's weaknesses.
He knew exactly which question to ask to know his opponent well. He was like a merchant, knowing which words to sell to get the most valuable information in return.
Izkron, the Clock-Face, stared at Lewis.
This time, the stare was not devoid of emotion; instead, it carried an immense weight, like the silence of the cosmos.
The brass gears did not glow, and the hands did not move, but it seemed as if time itself had stopped inside this artificial lair.
Lewis, who was sitting quietly, neither flinched nor blinked, but fixed his gaze on the ivory dial, awaiting the reply that might decide their fate.
Finally, the silence was broken by a loud laugh:
"Hah, this is brilliant! You mean all your actions and your loud, dramatic manner of speaking were meant to make me think you were an idiot?...
But your observations are remarkable, child; precise, organized, and far surpass mere 'hunch.' You used your sarcasm as a cover for systematic analysis. Remind me, when was the last time a human analyzed me before?"
"So you mean it truly is a curse, a curse?"
Luca asked, narrowing his eyes and waiting for his confirmation.
"I have studied this for a thousand years, Luca. I analyzed the victims' tissues, traced the energy paths in my body, and reviewed every biological and physical theory available to me. The result?"
He paused, and the brass gears returned to spinning lightly. "The most accurate word, despite its simplicity, is 'curse.' As for who cast it, he is someone I wish to kill in the most gruesome way."
We suddenly felt an insane killing intent, but it subsided in less than a second. I felt a cold sweat run down my back at that moment.
Slowly, Izkron said, looking at Lewis: "As for your question, child. No one imprisoned me; I imprisoned myself."
Lewis stared at Izkron, the Clock-Face, in a silence that was not one of surprise, but a cold appreciation for the magnitude of the madness revealing itself.
"You imprisoned yourself?"
Luca asked in a low voice, tearing through the immense silence Izkron had left. "To protect others from... the curse?"
Izkron, the Clock-Face, continued with horrific calm, even though his answer carried a weight Luca would not have expected.
"To protect myself, Luca. To protect myself from the madness of accidental killing."
"Imagine every living being that looks at you dying after two seconds.
Initially, it was intriguing, like a form of extreme biological modification I didn't understand.
But after thousands of corpses, it became an existential burden.
I am not a machine, you see. I have feelings, desires, and an obsession with knowledge.
But the more I interact with the outside world, the higher the death toll.
I wanted to study the world, not eradicate it. This lair, with all its false tranquility and elegance... is the prison I built for myself.
These trees, these glowing lights, this controlled weather outside - what you call 'The Storm King' - it is all a mechanism of isolation. The energy I produce from within me, which interacts with the immense pressure of the waterfall's water to form the storms.
It is essentially a way to confine myself away from any human or vital contact... And now I ask you, why haven't you died yet?"
Izkron, the Clock-Face, continued to stare at them. The brass gears around the ivory dial were rotating with terrifying slowness, as if time inside this lair had become a physical thing that could crush their existence at any moment.
He had posed the most important question, and his stillness demanded an answer that went beyond sarcasm and superficial analysis.
Luca stared at Lewis, their eyes exchanging the idea that had suddenly dawned on both of them at once. It wasn't a surprise; the matter was too simple.
Simply put, they do not possess an energy crystal, or it is not activated.
But no, they would not tell him this.
Imagine telling a human that you don't have lungs but are still alive.
At the very least, they would become experimental subjects and research rats. And let's not forget the crazy churches in this area; I bet some would think they are monsters and others would think they are sacred beings, and in both cases, the matter is extremely dangerous.
The moment was critical. Izkron was a scientist, obsessed with 'things that should not be.'
If he learned that their survival was linked to the absence or deactivation of 'Energy Crystals,' he would realize that he had unique study specimens that could turn his world upside down.
This was tantamount to an immediate death sentence by turning them into lab rats.
A cunning idea struck Luca, and he smiled a sly smile as he said:
"Everyone has their secrets, you know that, right? But I can give you a hint. It's not because of our strength, but a tool from someone we met."
Lewis's eyes widened as he looked at Luca for a moment, then he smiled; he understood what he was thinking.
"Indeed, do you think we could stand against such a powerful curse so easily?
A curse that can kill even High Sequence individuals. It's a tool from a saint we met by chance, and that's all we can tell you."
Izkron slowly leaned in as if doubting the answer. We felt his gaze fall upon both of us as if searching for any trace of a lie.
For a moment, we internally thanked Liam's acting lessons.
Izkron continued to stare at them, and the brass gears continued to rotate with suspicious slowness.
The silence this time was not one of threat, but one of precise analysis.
Luca and Lewis were acting with rare tactical brilliance; the former used sarcasm as bait, and the latter used curiosity as a shield.
"A saint?? Hah... Well, it seems you do not wish to tell me about the tool."
"Let's move on from that. Aren't you supposed to remove the curse from yourself instead of making people unaffected by it?" Luca said, resting his hand on his jaw and pondering.
"Certainly. You have a good point, but all avenues have not yielded any positive results for me," Izkron said, raising his teacup and drinking from it calmly.
"So... how long will you stay here?" Luca asked, wondering how the person in front of him was still so calm after everything.
"Until I find a way to remove it, Luca," Izkron said in a calm tone.
Lewis looked at Izkron, then leaned his head back with a sigh that indicated great exhaustion.
A thousand years of isolation... a thousand years; that's an incredibly long time, a curse like that is insane.
Is this why he wasn't mentioned in the novel?
"A thousand years..." Lewis muttered, looking at the artificial sky above them.
He closed his eyes, reviewing the events of the novel; there must be something that can solve this problem, but what is it?
Silence covered the entire place, only broken by the sound of the cup being lifted from the table and placed back.
Something.
Something.
Someth...
I found it!
Suddenly, Lewis's eyes snapped open, and he directed his gaze at Izkron.
"How about we make a deal?" he said, his tone changing to that of a merchant seeing a mountain of gold.
Luca looked at him calmly, then raised both hands to wipe his face, and sighed, murmuring to himself:
'Here we go.'
"A deal?" Izkron asked, his deep, muffled voice echoing in the artificial hall's silence.
"I think I know how the curse can be removed from you, Izkron."
A simple sentence, yet it fell into the deep silence like a spark in a barrel of gunpowder.
The Clock-Face being froze his movement; the cup stopped halfway to his non-existent mouth, and the brass gears around the ivory dial stopped completely, as if time had frozen inside the lair in response to this claim.
He slowly placed the cup on the table, looking at Lewis.
"How... how can I remove it?" His tone was sharp, mixed with desire, curiosity, and some excitement, as if he had found a thread of hope.
Lewis stared at him, a calm, cold smile plastered on his face, as if he had transformed into a merchant holding a priceless, rare commodity.
"Calm down, Izkron," Lewis said with extreme quietness, leaning slightly forward toward the table.
"You are asking me to hand over your freedom, which you spent a thousand years searching for, in exchange for you letting us go?
That is not a fair deal, you know; it's a gift. And a good merchant does not gift his treasures."
After a heavy silence, Izkron released a quiet, muffled sigh, like the sound of steam venting from a massive machine. The hands of his clock began to rotate slowly, as if returning time to its natural course, but at a heavier, more focused pace.
"A thousand years of searching... You are asking me to trust two people, whom I have known for only ten minutes, who are selling me my freedom?" Izkron said, leaning his body slightly forward, the stern, academic look dominating him. "I must first know the method to remove it before I make a deal with you."
"Simply put, it's a body exchange," Lewis said calmly.
"Body exchange? What do you mean by that, child?"
"No matter how strong curses are, they cannot bind to the soul, so all we have to do is transfer your soul to a suitable body," Lewis replied.
"Soul transfer is impossible..."
"It is possible," Lewis interrupted Izkron, looking at him with terrifying certainty.
"There is a suitable body for you, and besides..." Lewis turned to Luca, whose eyes widened in remembrance, as if he already knew what Lewis was talking about, and he, in turn, continued:
"I think I already know how to do it. A body... devoid of a soul, yet complete and strong, designed to contain immense energy. A body preserved in an astonishing mechanical way, perhaps even beyond your understanding."
"Aren't you afraid I'll simply force you to tell me?" Izkron looked at them with a sharp gaze.
"Hmm, let's say you obtained the information from us by force; do you think you can simply go there?
Certainly not. Think about it. A body of that power, do you think it's easy to take?
Even if you couldn't take it, do you think anyone could bring it to you and die two seconds after meeting you?
I don't think anyone would desire that, and what about that enemy who cast this curse on you? Do you think he won't move when he sees your soldiers doing something?"
Lewis looked at Izkron calmly and boldly, as if he had already anticipated his question.
"So, in return for this, what will be your share of the deal?" Izkron wondered, looking at him.
Lewis relaxed in his seat, maintaining his cold smile, and leaned forward over the table, as if sharing a priceless secret.
"First, we are releasing you from a thousand years of isolation, and that alone exceeds the value of anything material. But a merchant does not sell a treasure for nothing. Therefore, I want three basic things."
"First: I want us to leave here safely with a large number of Energy Stones, Glowing Plants, and the blood of a monster higher than Sequence Six, which I think you already have.
Second: I bet you have an insane library, so let Luca read whatever he wishes in it, and for those he doesn't know, I ask you to teach him.
And third: I desire protection... I want there to be a communication tool between us in case of any problem, and this relates to the second request, so how about you transfer a part of your consciousness into a simple object to travel with us, or something like that. Of course, if you wish, you can stay in this artificial place while giving us a means of protection..."
Izkron leaned in very slowly, the clock hands on his face turning with a cold, analytical motion.
"Your first and second requests, child... are simply an easy trade. Existence Stones and plants, even monster blood... are waste to me, and as for Luca, he will just be... an organized being consuming information, and teaching him a few ancient languages won't bother me. Acceptable," Izkron said in a tone of indifference.
Then his emotionless gaze focused on the third request. "But the third request... to transfer a part of my consciousness to be portable protection... that requires effort and analysis. My consciousness is not just a program to be copied. It also requires me to trust you two to preserve this part of my being. What prevents you from throwing it into the Dark Pond once you leave here?"
Lewis smiled coldly, a merchant's smile that held the final answer, and he pointed to Luca.
"What prevents us? Look at Luca's curious and ambitious eyes. I feel him already celebrating internally because you will allow him to read your books.
And if I betray you? I think he would throw me into a dark pond."
Luca turned to Lewis with a cold and scary smile.
Lewis ignored Luca's intimidating aura and continued:
"But before we sign the contract, I want the first request to be executed now, and allow us to leave now, and we will come back tomorrow to meet at the waterfall, and of course, a part of your consciousness will be the one to receive us."
Izkron, the Clock-Face, focused on Lewis, then on Luca, whose eyes looked excited.
The brass gears rotated slowly, as if analyzing the potential danger from this human being who valued knowledge more than his life.
"Betrayal... a predictable human act. But curiosity is a driving force that is hard to suppress. Yes, you clearly won't throw me into any pond, not before this curious one devours every page in my library. That reassures me about the third request.
But there is a point to be corrected, merchant. The first request, the 'immediate trade' of materials before completing the major deal... that goes beyond trust; it's audacity. But it is nothing. As for leaving now, you already know that this island is under my control, so it is fine with me."
The moment Izkron spoke his word, a hidden rocky wall opened in the corner he pointed to. Behind it was not a cave, but a dimly lit glass cabinet.
"The stones you request, the monster blood, and the glowing plants."
Izkron moved his finger, and a collection of plants and stones that were placed in a large bag, and two vials of blood, moved.
Lewis nodded, smiling with quiet triumph, the features of a merchant who had completed a good deal etched on his face.
He calmly reached out and took the large bag containing the stones and plants.
The glass vials containing the monster blood—of a dark brown color that hinted at immense power—were placed carefully on top of the bag.
Luca picked up the two vials with focus, examining their contents with the eye of an expert, then put them in his pocket.
Then they stood up from the chairs, putting the hoods back on their heads. Lewis grabbed his bag and then nodded towards Izkron, the Clock-Face, sitting in his horrific serenity.
"I suppose about this time tomorrow, in front of this waterfall, Mr. Izkron will be waiting for us," Lewis said, confirming, his eyes gleaming with the look of someone confident in the deal.
"I will be there," Izkron's voice came deep and muffled.
Suddenly, they felt the reality in front of them fade, and the entire scene vanished. It was only a moment until they found themselves in the middle of the forest.
In that moment the strange, artificial scene of Izkron's lair faded, the peaceful silence and deceptive tranquility disappeared, replaced by the hellish roar of the cascading waterfall.
The return was sudden and harsh; they did not find themselves in the warm passage behind the water curtain but in the middle of the charred forest, near the edge of the muddy valley.
The smell of ozone, smoke, and humidity, which had been almost forgotten in the presence of the glowing flowers, weighed heavily on them once again.
Luca and Lewis looked at each other. Their eyes reflected the shock of the sudden transition and the immense magnitude of Izkron's madness demonstrated by his ability to control space.
"We succeeded... we survived!"
Lewis muttered, his voice barely audible above the distant roar of the waterfall as he collapsed to the ground.
Luca could feel Lewis's obvious trembling and then looked at his hands... they were shaking involuntarily.
Yes, they had survived temporarily.
The latter sighed and knelt on the ground, thinking about all the insane pressure they had endured.
"We need to get back to the cave while the weather is clear; it seems Izkron has stopped the storm."
Lewis didn't answer anything. Luca looked at him, and before he could say anything, Lewis suddenly stood up, went to the nearest tree, and threw up everything he had eaten before they left.
Luca quickly knelt near Lewis, patting his back softly. Lewis was breathing loudly and raggedly, the bitterness of fear and tension still wrapped around his throat.
"Lewis! Are you alright?" Luca whispered worriedly; this was the first time he had seen him break down after making a deal.
Lewis leaned weakly against the charred tree trunk, covering his face with his trembling hand, then motioned to Luca with the other hand to stop talking.
Moments later, he raised his head. His eyes were watering, not from crying, but from the exertion and vomiting.
His reflective hood had fallen off as he vomited, allowing his pale features to show clearly.
"Fine... I'm fine... just... I was on the verge of losing my mind. Perhaps it was the first time I felt this tense, except for our graduation ceremony tension, of course," Lewis muttered, trying to smile with difficulty, but his voice was hollow and exhausted.
Luca slowly helped Lewis up, aiding him to stand steadily. Lewis leaned on his friend for a few moments, then sighed deeply.
He put the hood back on Lewis's head, who held it tightly.
His previous eagerness to take it off was gone; he now needed a psychological shield as much as he needed physical protection, and this silver hood made him feel some detachment from the shocking reality he had just experienced.
"Sorry," Lewis said in a hoarse voice, avoiding looking at Luca.
"The Storm King... whatever his name is, Izkron... was not in my calculations.
He was not just a monster; he was a living curse and a mad scientist all at once. Playing with him at the table was more exhausting than facing an army. Well, let's go."
Luca nodded, understanding, then raised his eyes to the sky.
"Izkron kept his promise... temporarily," Luca said. "The clouds seem to have receded, and the sky is frighteningly clear. This calm is our only window. We need to get back to the cave and think about what to do."
Luca summoned his bag, placed all the plants, stones, and vials inside, then commanded it to disappear, and took Lewis's bag and wore it.
The two began to walk back, clinging to each other for help crossing the muddy ground.
"This silence is killing me; I want to call the others," Lewis muttered hoarsely, clinging to the reflective hood as he walked with difficulty across the muddy ground. His step was still unsteady, as if his body refused to believe it was no longer under the influence of the killer tension.
"It's okay, let's just get to the hideout, then we can call them." Luca tried to help Lewis move. It was difficult even for him. He sighed quietly as he looked up towards their cave. Why did he feel the path had become longer?
"That was... bizarre," Luca finally said, his voice still low, breaking the fragile silence.
"Izkron, a huge library under a waterfall, a thousand-year-old curse, hot tea, an artificial garden.
Are we in an absurd play or what?"
"The absurd play has just begun," Lewis replied, his voice slightly more stable now, but carrying a new weight, and he added with sarcasm.
"I succeeded in taking the goods. And Luca succeeded in selling his soul to the devils for knowledge. A perfect deal."
Luca gave a short, faint laugh.
"I didn't sell my soul; I leased a library. But wait, why did I feel like you were enjoying the exchange deal? 'A body devoid of a soul, yet complete and strong...' Are you referring to that body?"
Lewis suddenly stopped and raised his head.
"Certainly. The 'Unir' body is preserved in the Lower Passages Cave. It was mentioned in the first part of the novel. It's the body that was supposed to house a monster's soul... but the soul didn't complete, and the body exploded. It is the perfect vessel for Izkron. A body untouched by time."
"And should we tell him this tomorrow?"
"Of course not," Lewis shook his head. "I just gave him an encouraging thread. We'll leave the details for another day. All he cares about now is hope. The Storm King is under our control... temporarily."
The two continued their walk until they reached the edge of the cave they used as their hideout. The entrance to the cave was hidden behind fallen rocky debris.
They slipped inside with difficulty. The place was dry and relatively cold compared to the forest's humidity.
Luca and Lewis sat in the cold darkness of the hideout, the only sound being their rapid breaths and the gradually calming beat of their hearts.
The hot mix of physical exhaustion and psychological tension left them in a state of depletion.
"Call them; hearing their voices can relieve this tension..." And before Lewis could finish his sentence, a green light flashed from his ring.
"I think someone else has found these things too,"
Luca said, looking at the ring with a calm smile. As soon as he pressed the button, successive, rapid voices erupted. It seemed as if everyone had opened the line with them.
"Guys, you won't believe what I saw, I saw a dragon... a real dragon, and I healed it!" Louyan shouted excitedly.
"I think Mellis has decided to become a mother," Liam said calmly.
"Heeey... just because I found a strange egg and decided to keep it doesn't mean I became a mother," Mellis shouted as if explaining the matter.
"Guess what? I think this place was originally a beloved island of a ruler," the voices of Ivan and Yona grew louder, their tone full of astonishment.
Well, I guess we weren't the only ones who witnessed something crazy.
Luca sighed in disappointment and looked at Lewis, who was smiling at their madness. I guess everyone among us got their fair share, hah!